NURS FPX 5003 Assessment 2 Interview of Health Care Professional
Interview of Healthcare Professional
It is beneficial and constructive to talk to professionals who work in the communities when trying to identify and improve one’s understanding of the various populations that a healthcare organization serves and their healthcare needs. Better plans and strategies can be developed by combining the information provided by health care data with professionals’ actual experiences. It is critical to understand how health professionals, in general, are expected to communicate with various patients, demonstrating how to interact with racially and ethnically diverse populations to provide them with sufficient health information to make decisions about their health and care. Additionally, the nurses can work on developing a foundation of best practices by observing the work of industry leaders. When best practices are implemented, healthcare professionals and organizations can ensure compliance with relevant regulations and care standards. Dr. Clay Marsh, who oversees West Virginia University’s School of dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and public health, as well as numerous allied health programs and clinical operations throughout the state, has been interviewed for this study. He attended West Virginia University twice and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a medical degree (West Virginia University, n.d).
NURS FPX 5003 Assessment 2 Interview of Health Care Professional
Strategies to Address Identified Healthcare Needs
Various approaches can be used to identify a community’s health needs, including interviews with medical professionals and community leaders, stakeholder meetings, surveys, and demographic data analysis. According to Aron. (2019), the PDSA cycle is a potent tool for accelerating organizational improvement. The PDSA cycle is used in clinical settings to determine whether the quality is sufficient to bring about improvements or changes related to improvements. By planning and implementing a change, an external evaluator can help the organization determine which changes are successful. The evaluator will observe the results and then direct the staff to act on the lessons learned. In the United States, healthcare disparities like providing lower-quality care to sexual, ethnic, and gender minorities and those with low health literacy persist (NHS England & NHS Improvement, 2021). The CLAS was established in 2000 to reduce the disparities. In 2013, enhanced National CLAS standards were introduced to help health and healthcare organizations ensure health equity. The focus is the minorities groups with low health literacy. Providing CLAS necessitates cultural humility and competency on the provider level (Minority Health, n.d.)
Criteria to Evaluate the Strategies
Program planners address the criteria for evaluating the strategies by creating questions like “What are the organization’s accomplishments during this period?” “How many diabetic patients were served?” and “What were the challenges that had a negative or positive impact on program implementations?” According to Dineen-Griffin et al. (2019), healthcare organizations can either hire an external evaluator or assign an internal employee to serve as an evaluator and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare strategies for future decisions. Relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability are the six evaluation criteria defined by the OECD DAC Network on Development Evaluation, as well as two principles for their application (Alcayna & O’Donnell, 2022).
According to the interview, West Virginia University hospitals employ various strategies for providing Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) for diabetic patients. The organization employs a communication style focused on the patient and addresses cultural barriers to care. To ensure productive interactions between a prepared, proactive practice team and an informed, activated patient, care is aligned with components of the Chronic Care Model (Timpel et al., 2020).
Healthcare professionals can influence and empower the healthcare team, patients, and communities to make healthier choices through various communication methods, including huddles, face-to-face meetings, campaigns, and questionnaires (Gehlert et al., 2019). Patient outcomes can be improved by effectively communicating complex health information to various patient populations. For instance, it is not as effective to tell diabetic patients that they should maintain a particular blood glucose level as it is to tell them that maintaining a particular blood glucose level is essential to reduce their risk of amputation and future complications related to kidney and nerves. By better comprehending the patient populations impacted by low health literacy, the obstacles related to communicating with at-risk populations, and evidence-based best practices, healthcare providers can begin to develop a framework for improving health literacy.
Benefits of Meeting National CLAs Standards
A framework for providing services that are respectful of patients’ preferences and communication needs, as well as culturally and linguistically appropriate, is outlined in the National CLAS Standards and followed by West Virginia University. The ability to work and communicate effectively in cross-cultural settings may be enhanced by these standards, which will ultimately contribute to reducing health disparities and attaining health equity. They help healthcare professionals learn from patients whose views and beliefs differ from their own, be open to the identities of patients, and empathize with their life experiences (Annalee A, 2022).
Epidemiologic principles are the foundation for disease surveillance and investigation by public health professionals. They study the causes of public health problems and diseases and the most effective treatments, interventions, and solutions for them. Epidemiologists can track diseases and anticipate their effects on the population through research and statistical analysis. It provides an idea of how descriptions of demographic characteristics can be used to identify groups at risk for a particular outcome. Age, socioeconomic status, gender, and race/ethnicity are typically the demographic characteristics.
The most fundamental task of epidemiology is to describe the occurrence of diseases and to note differences in the occurrence of diseases among various groups. To quantify this disease burden, epidemiologically specific terms like frequency, potential impact, and survival measures are needed (Harvard Medical School, 2022).
Strengths of Organization in Addressing National CLAs
West Virginia University Hospital adopting and implementing the National CLAS Standards have taken concrete steps to address health disparities and meet the needs of vulnerable populations (Black community). An organizational commitment is necessary to implement the National CLAS Standards successfully. The National CLAS Standards have undoubtedly contributed to raising awareness of the requirement for services that are culturally and linguistically appropriate (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2022). By providing a model for healthcare organizations, the National CLAS Standards aim to advance clinical prevention and aid in eliminating healthcare disparities.
NURS FPX 5003 Assessment 2 Interview of Health Care Professional
The difference between the recommended best practices for healthcare and the care given to patients is known as a gap in health care. If the staff does not adhere to any of the critical points of the CLAS standards, such as by not treating all patients equally, not responding to patients’ cultural health beliefs, or having language barriers, a gap may develop in meeting the standards. Medical errors and a lack of transparency can also cause gaps. Both patients and payers, such as self-insured employers, suffer from quality issues when care gaps exist (Yip et al., 2019). Through the concept of cultural literacy, a conceptual understanding of the connections between ethnicity, culture, and literacy can shed light on the deeper meanings of how diverse populations in West Virginia come to know, comprehend, and make informed decisions based on valid health data.
Challenges of Organization in Addressing National CLAS Standards
Challenges in implementing the National CLAS Standards are a need for more resources and instructions on how to interpret and apply the standards. Adverse patient outcomes and the financial burden of errors and inefficiencies that CLAS can reduce make it more expensive not to implement the Standards. A study by Isoherranen et al. (2019) discusses that the inconsistency of accountability measures and issues with communication within healthcare organizations are obstacles to successfully implementing the National CLAS Standards. There may be significant communication difficulties with native patients if nursing staff are unfamiliar with the local language.
The organization may face difficulties and challenges if there are lack of resources, and it is unable to determine the standards correctly. The organization incurs additional costs when it seeks to recruit skilled workers, collect data on various racial groups in the population, and train its current staff (Think Cultural Health, n.d). Addressing National CLAS Standards may also be disrupted by the lack of basic healthcare options in rural areas.
Organization’s Strategies, Strengths, and Weaknesses
In healthcare settings, immediate and direct communication is essential. A straightforward and accurate exchange of information is essential to the well-being and health of patients. The West Virginia University Hospital’s strengths include giving employees a voice and making the necessary adjustments to meet the CLAS standards. This step helps and boosts effective communication between staff members and patients. The staff is always willing to listen to the patients to improve communication by developing an internal communications strategy. Rangachari and L. Woods (2020) say that in-person meetings can also be held because they are essential. They are necessary for patients and healthcare professionals to communicate effectively. Regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, or religion, the organization’s staff listens to patients and understands the significance of incorporating their priorities into treatment decisions. This shows respect for oneself and the organization. The staff understands how patients from various cultures view healthcare to meet the needs of a diverse population like West Virginia’s. As a result, the staff can tailor the patient’s questions, and treatment plans to meet the needs of the patients. Promoting diversity in healthcare can improve providers’ cultural competence and enable them to provide services that cater to their patients’ distinct social, cultural, and linguistic requirements according to culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS) standards (Spitzer-Shohat & Chin, 2019).
Gomez and Bernet (2019) also talk about strategies used in the WVU hospital that could lead to a therapeutic dilemma. Accepting other cultures and using precise language are two of these strategies.
On the other hand, the re-equipment is one of the weaknesses in meeting the CLAS standards because the new staff sometimes needs to be better versed in using modern tools and healthcare equipment. It costs too much and causes the hospital to lose money, affecting the organization’s budget. WVU Hospital, on the other hand, takes advantage of the opportunity to educate healthcare workers on the most recent medical technology and is also introducing new, cutting-edge services to patients to improve healthcare.
Conclusion
Identifying health needs results in agreed-upon priorities and allocating resources to address health disparities and improve health. They also enable the target audience to contribute and foster collaboration and creativity.
NURS FPX 5003 Assessment 2 Interview of Health Care Professional
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